My Kind of Crazy
by AshleyTrecartin
Summary: Things have changed since Miranda and the crew is about to find out just how much between the assassin and the mercenary. A smuggling job turned wrong gets River kidnapped by slaves traders and it's up to Jayne to rescue her before it's too late to tell her.
1. The Cargo

Chapter 1

The Cargo

After the events on Miranda and with Mr. Universe things had changed drastically aboard Serenity. Inara had retired as a companion and stayed with them. Things between her and Mal had heated up quickly after that, both of them now living in Inara's shuttle. Zoe had found out she was pregnant a month after leaving. She'd known from the second she found out that she would keep the baby, and now a healthy, four month old boy was flying with the crew. Kaylee and Simon were damn near inseparable; if Simon had nothing to do you could always find him in the engine room with Kaylee when she was working. Even River had gone through a dramatic change. She was still reading, but she had more control over it. She could tune it out, turn it on, and sort through a crowd to find the hidden gun. She was damn near unstoppable. She'd also gotten extremely better. She didn't have moments that burned her mind; she was lucid, every second. She'd also developed a bond with someone that no one on the ship saw coming.

Unless River was asleep or piloting Serenity, one could always find her in the company of the resident mercenary. After those doors had opened and Jayne had seen River standing in the middle of a reaver graveyard, he'd respected the hell out of her. Single handedly she had killed the one thing that gave him nightmares, and to Jayne, that was the sexiest damn thing in the Verse. Once he was sure she wasn't going to go crazy and attack him with a butcher knife he'd enjoyed her company more and more. They always paired up for jobs; they sat next to each other at every meal. She even helped him when he was working out. When he was cleaning his weapons or hers on occasion, she would drape her feet over his lap, or, if he was in the common area, she would sit on his lap and watch him.

When the crew first noticed the relationship between River and Jayne they'd been happy that they were getting along, but they were also extremely worried. Jayne wasn't exactly the best role model for a young woman. Eventually though, they'd backed off and just let it happen.

Mal and River were in the bridge, piloting Serenity to the Eavesdown Docks on Persephone. Badger had sent a wave, informing them that he had a job if they were interested. He hadn't given them any other information than that. When Mal asked about it Badger just said they would have to be there to understand.

Zoe and Jayne had warned him that it was possibly a trap, but River said she hadn't read anything off of him. It was hard for her to get an exact thought from people when they weren't within a close proximity, but she could still read emotions. Mal had decided it was at least worth a shot to go find out what it was about.

"Somethin' 'bout this don't set right," Jayne grumbled as he walked into the bridge.

Mal sighed, rolling his eyes. "We need a job Jayne, or do you not want to eat this month?" He relinquished control of Serenity to River. She was better at landing than he was. "I ain't sayin' that we're gonna take the job, I just wanna see what it is."

Jayne sighed, his body gravitating towards River until he was standing behind the chair, one arm across the back and leaning into it. "I guess if she ain't pickin' up nothin'."

River landed Serenity and shut down the engine before turning in the chair. "Nothing bad at least."

"There, see, no problem." Mal clapped Jayne on the shoulder and smiled at the both of them. "Let's go get us some cargo." He led them off the bridge and down to the cargo bay where the rest of the crew was waiting to be given jobs. "Kaylee, how's our engine lookin'?"

"Shiny Cap'n, we don't need no parts."

Mal nodded. "That's what I like to hear. You and Simon can go get supplies then." He pulled a list and some money from his pocket and handed it over to the mechanic. "Don't be long; I wanna be back in the sky in an hour or so." Kaylee and Simon nodded their understanding as they climbed into the mule and headed for the market. "Inara, you're on babysitting duty." Mal watched Zoe hand over Wash Jr. and smiled a bit. He was a cute little thing. "Ship duty too."

"I think we can handle it," Inara replied smiling down and cooing at the baby.

"Good." He looked at the rest of the crew. "You three with me." He walked off the ship, the rest of them following.

"What do you think the cargo will be?" Zoe asked, sliding her gun into the holster on her waist.

"Probably some Alliance goods knowing Badger." Mal wasn't looking forward to that. They were getting enough heat from the Alliance as it was. "Hard to say though."

"It's not Alliance goods," River said. "It's something more dangerous than that."

Mal looked over at her. "You reading him?"

She nodded her head. "His mind is too guarded, I don't know what it is, but it's not goods."

He sighed as they walked up to Badger's door. "Well, this should be fun." He knocked and waited for someone to answer before following them back to Badger's office.

Badger was sitting behind his desk, looking through a huge pile of papers when they walked in. He looked up and grinned. "Bout time ya showed up."

"Well, at least we're here. What's the job?" Mal asked.

Badger's grin widened. "Not a what, a who."

Male looked at him dumbfounded for a moment. "Wanna run that by me again?" If Badger thought he was going to ship a dead person on Serenity he was insane.

Badger motioned to one of his men behind them. Mal looked over as he brought a woman into the room. Mal had to admit, she was a damn fine looking woman; long platinum hair done up in loose ringlets, piercing blue eyes, and the body of a companion dressed in leather. "This is Aria, you're to take her to Beaumonde and deliver her to Fanty and Mingo. She'll pay you your cut there, then wire me mine."

Mal glared at Badger. "I don't smuggle slaves."

"I'm not a slave, Captain Reynolds." Aria turned her eyes on him, defiance shining brightly in them. "I used to be an Alliance Parliament member."

Now he had heard every damn thing. "No, nope, no way in hell!" He turned to leave, wanting no part of this, but River grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Listen to her."

Mal sighed and looked back at Aria. "Let's hear it."

"I had no knowledge of Miranda, when I saw the wave I was…well furious. I motioned for an investigation and for a pardon for the Tams. Was refused, and they sent an assassin to my home." She signed and looked at him. "I had no idea, and for what part I played, I am sorry."

Mal narrowed his eyes and looked at her closely. "How can I know this ain't a trap?"

"Mal, you can't seriously be considerin' this," Jayne protested.

"Bi jweh," Mal commanded. Jayne huffed, but remained silent. "The Alliance has caused a lot of trouble for me and mine. How do I know this ain't some kind of trap to get River, or anyone else on my ship?"

"I understand your trepidation, Captain. You can search through my things, my person, and anything else you may need. If you wish, you can lock me inside a room for the duration of the trip." Aria looked at him with a resolved look. "I'm only trying to protect my life, surely you can understand that."

Mal sighed, turning his back on her and crossing his arms. He wasn't sure this was such a good idea. For all he knew it could be a trap created by the parliament to take him down. He looked at River; she would be the deciding factor in all this. "What do you think little albatross?"

River looked at Aria a moment longer before looking up at Mal. "She's not lying, it's not a trap."

Mal nodded and looked back at Aria and Badger. "What's the pay?"

"For transporting me to Fanty and Mingo you'll be paid ten thousand credit, to be paid in twenty-five thousand platinum which you will receive once we're with Fanty and Mingo."

"How shi sung chung!" Jayne smirked. "Let's do it."

Mal looked at Zoe. "What do you think?"

Zoe sighed and looked at him. "They money sounds good, and River says she's tellin ' the truth. Even if she's not, River would be able to read it comin'."

Mal looked back at Aria. "We'll take the job."

xXx

Jayne grunted as he lifted the heavy chest onto the ship and dropped it in the cargo bay. He was damn near giddy about the payout for this job, but she sure did have a log of luggage for a fugitive. "She thinks it's necessary," River commented, lifting one of the smaller cases.

"Well, it' ain't." he lifted the last one of the crates and carried it over to all of the other ones. "At least we're getting paid good." He grinned and looked at River. "You sure this ain't a trap?"

She nodded. "Her mind was very open, there weren't any secrets." She climbed onto the crates, walking across them as she followed Jayne towards the bridge. When she ran out of crates to walk on she grabbed onto Jayne's shoulders, swinging onto his back. Jayne smirked a bit and reached around to grab her ass, holding her as he climbed the stairs to the bridge.

"I still don't trust it," he huffed as they walked onto the bridge. Jayne released River and let her settle into the pilot's seat. He leaned over the seat, his hand absentmindedly playing with her hair as she fired up the engine and got them ready for takeoff. "I want ya to hang close, dohn-ma?"

River smiled and looked up at him. "You're that worried?"

Jayne blushed a bit and looked out the window. "Just don't trust it, that's all."

"I'll stay close," River agreed as Mal walked in. "We're ready whenever you are."

Mal nodded. "We're good, Kaylee and Simon are just putting the supplies away. "Take us out of the world."

River nodded and piloted the ship away from the docks and headed straight up into the sky, ready to leave atmo and start the trip to Beaumonde. Jayne gave a light tug on her hair. "I'm gonna go clean Vera."

She nodded her head. "I'll be along after I program a route." Jayne nodded and walked out of the bridge, leaving her alone with the captain. She sighed, picking up thoughts from Mal. It was hard not to, he was so loud. While she took them out of atmo she let Mal's thoughts rush through her. He thought there was something going on with her and Jayne, something that was against "ship rules". He was worried about her, didn't like how close they were. Thought it was unnatural. He opened his mouth to talk to her about it, but River silenced him. "Jayne is doing nothing wrong, and neither am I. We enjoy each other's company, there's nothing wrong with that." She quickly programmed a route to Beaumonde and faced Mal in the chair. "Even if something was going on, if Jayne and I were sleeping together, it's not your business, my brother's business, or Zoe's business. It's no one's but mine and Jayne's." She stood from her chair and walked over to the stairs. "It may be your ship, captain, but my life belongs to no one. Not anymore."

She didn't say anything else, she'd made her point, and yes, the captain might be a little upset with her for scolding him like that, but as far as she was concerned, she didn't care. She walked down to the galley, but Jayne wasn't there. It surprised her a bit, only because that was where he usually cleaned his weapons. Deciding that if he wasn't there, he was down in the common area, she made her way down there. Jayne was sitting there, Vera in pieces laid out on the table, a piece in his hand with some oil and his old rag cut from a shirt that had been ripped one too many times. River smiled and walked over, balancing herself carefully on one of his legs. Jayne paused what he was doing long enough for her to get comfortable before wrapping his arm around her waist so he could still reach the part he was cleaning. She just smiled and relaxed back against his chest, blocking out everything but the beating of his heart. It soothed her to turn out all the voices and just listen to the steady thrumming. It calmed the beast inside, and sang to the woman.

"I just wish he would think," Simon complained as he walked out the infirmary with Kaylee. "I know River didn't pick anything up, but that doesn't mean it was the best idea in the world."

River rolled her eyes. Simon really was too paranoid. "She said she didn't know anything about Miranda," Kaylee pointed out. "You know there were some elections couple years ago, maybe she's new."

"It makes sense that they wouldn't tell anyone new about something they didn't need to know." Zoe walked in, her son in her arms and looked over at Jayne and River. "Comfy you two?" she asked, raising an eye brow.

River looked at her. "Very, thank you."

"I didn't think the captain would be the type to allow shipboard romances." Everyone looked to the hallway that lead to the passenger dorms as Aria walked out of the room Mal had given her. It had been River's at one point, but she'd opted for sleeping in the empty bunk. Getting as far away from the infirmary, and her brother as possible.

"They are not having a romance." Simon glared slightly at Jayne.

"Forgive me, I was assuming too much." Aria looked at Jayne, examining what he was up to and River wasn't sure how she felt about that. "A Callahan full-bore auto-lock with customized trigger, double cartridge, and thorough gauge, very impressive Mr. Cobb." They all stopped and looked at her, somewhat dumbfounded. She looked at all of them and shrugged her shoulders. "I can appreciate a good gun."

"I'll say," Jayne said with a grin. River felt something flash through her and glared at the woman. If she had to put an emotion to it she'd have to say it was jealousy. She didn't like that thought, but she pressed closer to Jayne.

"I heard we were smuggling an ex-Alliance official, but I wasn't aware it was the most beautiful of them." Inara walked down the stairs smiling as she looked at Aria.

"You know her 'Nara?" Kaylee asked.

"Oh I do." Inara walked over and hugged Aria. "It's been too long." Inara smiled, keeping her arm around Aria. "Before Aria became a parliament member she hired me on more than one occasion. We had quite a lot of fun together."

"Didn't think companions were allowed to service state officials," Mal said, walking down the stairs. "Isn't that against some kind of law?"

Aria shrugged. "No one got paid, so technically it wasn't a job. Just two friends having fun."

"Well, you're just turnin' out to be all sorts of interestin'," Mal said giving her a sarcastic smile. "Is there anything else we should know?"

"Mal," Inara warned.

"What? I just want to know if there are any surprises I might need to know 'bout before this goes any further."

"No, Captain, there aren't." Aria sighed and looked at Inara. "I suppose I should have mentioned this before they agreed to the job"

Inara rolled her eyes. "Don't pay any attention to him mei-mei, Mal's just worried about his own competence." Without another word Inara led Aria out of the room. Zoe and Simon were finding it difficult not to laugh, and Jayne, well, Jayne was just confused.

River looked at him, opened her mouth to explain, but the Mal stopped her. "You explain anything to him and you'll be on septic duty for a month." She looked over at Mal and stuck her tongue out. "Don't be like that." He turned and walked out.

"Well, that was fun," Kaylee mumbled. River watched as she and Simon left for their bunk, Zoe following. It was time to put the baby to bed.

She and Jayne were alone again. Jayne stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. River kept her mind closed off; she didn't like reading Jayne, not all of the time. "You doin' alright?" he asked.

"Mal doesn't like the way you look at me. He thinks it's bad news…I told him off." She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Why do they think that we're doing something so horrible? Isn't it a good thing that we get along, especially since I came at you with a butcher's knife and you tried to sell me off to the Alliance?"

Really, they should probably hate each other. Before Miranda, they had never gotten along. He was nervous around her, angry at her, irritated that she'd never had her head about her. River hadn't known what to think of Jayne back then. She knew he'd hated her. But now…now that she was stable, now that she wasn't likely to kill anyone, now that Jayne had seen her take out a pack of reavers to keep the crew safe…they trusted each other. That was a good thing wasn't it?

Jayne sighed and put Vera's barrel down on the table with all of the other parts. He hooked his hand around her knees and pulled them so she was sitting across his lap instead of on one leg. He wouldn't look at her though. "They think we're sexin' and they don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?" she demanded. "It's my body, it's my life, and shouldn't I be able to do with it as I please? I'm not a little girl anymore, and I'm not crazy." She was getting angry, quickly. She was going to need to burn off some energy soon. Thankfully, Jayne kept a punching bag in the cargo bay for his workouts.

Jayne looked up at her. "Do you want to?"

River frowned and looked at him. "I…I don't know." She ran a hand through her hair. I catch you sometimes, when you're watching me, I know what you think…" She sighed and looked at him. "I like the way you see me."

"What do you mean?"

River sighed and thought about it for a moment, trying to put it into words. "You see the woman…and the weapon. You want both. You think they complement each other. The weapon makes the woman sexy, and the woman makes the weapon beautiful. I like that." She looked at him. "I know that when I look at you, I'm happy, I like being with you. Sometimes I find myself wanting to be with you…in bed I mean, but…"

"But?"

"But, it scares me. I know you, I know you don't want to push that boundary, you don't want the crew to get mad, and you don't want Mal to throw you out of an air lock."

Jayne huffed and ran a hand through his short hair. "Ain't that the truth?" He looked up at her. "It's up to you," he finally said. "You know where to find me."

River smiled and laid her head against his. "Finish cleaning Vera." She made herself nice and comfortable on his lap and closed her eyes, listening to him hum as he cleaned his favorite gun. In his arms is where she fell asleep.

xXx

Jayne clicked the last few pieces of Vera back into place and set her out on the table before looking at the woman passed out in his arms. He knew the others didn't like the relationship between them, but he didn't give a good gorram what they thought. She had a point. With the way things had gone between them in the past, they should be at each other's throats. The crew should be happy that they're getting along. He'd also be lying if he said he wouldn't mind getting her into his bed for a night, or more. He wasn't suicidal though. He knew the second he made a move on River, Mal would throw him out of an air lock.

He sighed and looped his arm under River's legs, holding her back with the other and stood, keeping her in his arms. With one hand he managed to grab Vera before heading back to the hall where their bunks were. Getting down with her in his arms, while holding onto Vera used to be a pain in the ass, but River fell asleep near him enough that he'd perfected the climb down into her bunk. Jayne carefully laid her out in bed and covered her up, pulling her boots off before climbing back up the ladder and closing the hatch.

He didn't go to his own bunk though. Jayne headed for the cargo bay instead, deciding that he needed a work out before he was going to be able to sleep. He walked into the cargo bay and walked over to the handles he had set up under the catwalk so he could do some pull-ups He tightened the straps on his gloves before settling his hands on the handles and started pulling himself up, easing himself down, and repeating. The burn in his arms felt good and distracted him from the burn in his gut that was screaming at him to go back to River. It wasn't a good idea to let her get into his head the way she did, but hell if he cared.

He liked having her in his head, weather he was thinking about her, or she was reading him. It came in damn handy when they were in the middle of a fight. She could read his movements, know what he was going to do before he did and move with him. That's why they worked so perfectly together. He didn't have to say a word but they moved in perfect synchronization. The mercenary and the government developed weapon.

Jayne was in the zone, blocking out just about everything, but even so, he could still sense when someone walked into the cargo bay. He looked over to the doorway, watching as Aria walked in. "Am I bothering you?" she asked as she straddled his bench press.

"Nope," Jayne grunted under the exertion of pulling his weight up into the air with just the strength of his arms. He watched her watching him.

"You don't trust me." She seemed amused.

"Nope, I don't."

"You think I'll hurt River."

Jayne let go of the handles and dropped to the floor, his eyes narrowing on her, watching her closely, sizing her up, and looking for any concealed weapons they might have missed in the initial search. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear," he growled, walking over towards her. "You so much as split a hair on her head, or anyone else's, I'll show you things only reavers are capable of, dohn-ma?"

To her credit, she didn't flinch or back down. "I have no intentions of harming anyone one this ship." She stood slowly and even though Jayne had a good six inches on her, she still looked up at him with those icy eyes, meeting him glare for glare. "I just want to get to where I'm going without the Alliance finding out." She turned her back on him and walked back to the passenger dorms. Jayne huffed and walked up the stairs to the hall of bunks, jumping down into his. This was going to be one long ass trip.


	2. Pay Day

Chapter 2

Payday

Jayne stood from his bed slowly and stretched, his back and neck popping. "I always hated that sound." Jayne usually would have jumped and gone for a weapon, but he was used to her being there by now.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Ya know this is how I wake up, if ya don't like it, don't come down here." He reached past where River was sitting on the table and grabbed the last clean shirt he had. Usually he didn't care if he had clean shirts or not, but every now and then he liked to have something clean.

"If you want, I'll wash those for you," River said off handedly as she stood from the table.

"Nah, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." Jayne pulled the shirt over his head. "Are we close to Beaumonde?"

River nodded her head. "We'll be landing in the next half hour, Fanty and Mingo sent a wave when we hit atmo, they want us to transport something for them. Mal's considering it."

"Did they say what it was?" Jayne pulled his belt through the loops and slipped his hunting knife back into its holster.

River passed him his gun then grabbed his gloves and opened them up so he could easily slip his hands into them. "Alliance goods, they want us to take them to Lilac." She passed over his gloves and walked towards the ladder, waiting for him before she started to climb up.

"Does Mal remember what happened last time we were there?" Jayne shook his head, keeping his eyes straight ahead as he followed River up the ladder.

"He does, which is why he didn't say yes." Jayne followed River onto the bridge as she sat in the pilot's seat and took control over the ship again. "It'd probably be okay. Most of the reavers were killed when we sent them upon the Alliance after we left Miranda."

Jayne sighed. "I still don't like the idea." He looked down at her as they swept over the water that led up to the city. "How's the money?"

"Half of what we're making for this job." She flipped a switch and sent the ship into full burn. "The money's decent, which is why Mal is considering it. He's planning on taking a break after the second job, give the crew a break."

"Well, it would be nice to have a break." Jayne rested his arms on the back of the chair and leaned over it, watching her fly. "Maybe a nice place somewhere with a beach, lots of tasty runnin' 'round, plenty of alcohol."

River giggled as she pulled the ship into docking, finally where they needed to be. "Jayne, you wouldn't know what to do on a beach." She flipped off the engines and craned her head back on her neck so she was looking straight up at him. Jayne didn't miss the opportunity to look straight down her shirt as he stared down at her.

"Yeah, well maybe you're right, still," he sighed as he stood up and took her hand, spinning her from the seat, "it'll be nice to get a break." He led them off the bridge and down to the cargo bay where Mal was waiting with the rest of the crew and the cargo.

"We'll get someone to unload your things and get them to Fanty and Mingo, but for now, you can just leave them here," Mal said as he opened up the doors. He looked up at them and Jayne and River came down the stairs. "Jayne, when we get there I want you and River to hang back at a different table. No reason to draw attention to ourselves if there ain't no reason."

Jayne nodded his agreement and grabbed his coat off his bench press and pulled it on around his shoulders. While he may have to leave his gun at the door, he had plenty of other things to use for weapons on his belt and hidden in the pockets of his coat. He looked at River who was zipping up the leather jacket she'd gotten a while back. Jayne had to admit, she looked damn good in leather. She wore it a lot now. Ever since she got her mind back after Miranda she'd stopped wearing those ridiculous dresses Simon always put her in. It made sense too, she was a lethal weapon, leather pants and form fitting tops looked a hell of a lot sexier on her than some frilly dress.

"River, you'll be in charge of signaling us if anything goes wrong…think you can refrain from starting a bar fight?"

Jayne glared at Mal thinking that last little comment was uncalled for. River put a hand on his arm and instantly he calmed down. "I'll do my best, though; I'm not making any promises." She looked at Jayne and winked. "Don't worry about it too much."

He sighed and followed Mal and Zoe of the ship, Aria between them all. She probably didn't need protection, but it was hard to say. Usually there weren't many problems on this planet, and Fanty and Mingo were smart enough not to go back to the bar River had caused a scene in last time, but they also had picked a location where few Alliance patrols went to give them better cover. "They say anythin' more about that job they have for us?" Jayne asked as they lost themselves in the crowd of people, easily blending in.

Mal shook his head. "Nope, all I know is that they're going to want us to deliver it to Lilac."

Jayne sighed. He still didn't like that idea. Lilac was too damn close to reaver territory. Yeah, River had killed a lot of them, and the Alliance had shot down plenty of their ships, but the damn things still made him nervous. Not many things scared him, but reavers were on the top of that list. Jayne felt a sharp prick on the side of his neck and slapped it. "Damn bugs," he grunted seeing the tiny amount of blood that usually came from a mosquito bite.

River frowned and looked at him. "A bug?"

"Yeah, just got bit." He followed Mal and Zoe into the bar Fanty and Mingo had designated at the drop off point and dropped his gun into one of the lockers by the door, taking the key and shoving it into his pocket. "Go find a table, I'll get some drinks." River nodded and walked over to the tables as he slid up to the bar and ordered two drinks for them. Out of the corner of his eye he watched Mal, Zoe, and Aria walk towards the back, where the cameras couldn't catch anything because the shadows were too thick. Fanty and Mingo were waiting and offered them all a seat. Jayne took the drinks and found River about five tables over. He kicked out his chair and slid into it, passing one of the glasses to her. "You hear anythin' they're sayin'?" he asked.

River nodded. "Aria just paid Mal, they're discussing the job on Lilac. It sounds like it may be some medical supplies." She took a drink of the sake he's brought over and scrunched up her face "They want us to take a load of drugs to a seller on Lilac, apparently someone knocked over a transport ship carrying the supplies to Arial and made out with twice what we did on the same job."

"Well, a job's a job." Jayne knocked back his drink and looked around the bar. "Anything sound fishy?"

She shook her head. "It's a solid deal, Mal will accept. We're getting a day off though; they don't want the supplies delivered quite yet."

Jayne grinned and looked around the bar. "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout a little bit of time off is just what we needed." His eyes scanned the bar for a piece of tasty he might be able to talk into spending the night with him. He saw an attractive looking blonde near the bar and started to think of a way to approach her. He was about to get up and head over there when something stopped him. River was looking around the bar, carefully reading and scanning for any potential threats, her eyes cold and calculating. Jayne stopped. all thoughts of getting some trim out the door.

He knew that deep down; no one would do, unless it was River. He also knew that once that line was crossed there was no going back. Mal would try to throw him out into the black without a suit, Simon would probably try to kill him the next time he was on the table, Kaylee, Inara, and Zoe would probably try to talk her out of it. He understood why too. River was just barely twenty, she was ten years younger than he was, she used to be a princess and deserved better than the likes of him. But he was a sick, dirty, selfish bastard, because he wanted her. He sighed and was about to order another drink when River straightened in her seat, her eyes locking in one solid location behind his back. He waited patiently for her to tell him what to do.

They'd been working with each other close enough that he knew her cues, he knew when there was trouble, just from the way her body moved and her eyes meticulously scanned the room. "Balcony, third table, four men." She didn't take her eyes off of him. "They're going to try and kill us; they've got barrels trained on us, Mal, and Zoe."

Jayne glanced over at Mal who kept looking between Mingo and River. He'd picked up on her too, knew something was going on. He met Jayne's eyes and nodded. He slowly stood from the table and made his way to the bar, watching River to make sure he wasn't being watched. She held her hand under the table to give him direction. Once she told him they'd lost him in the crowd, Jayne broke for the stairs and quietly made his way to the balcony, using the shadows to hide himself as he made his way to their table. They were small timers; they didn't even have decent guns on them, just a couple of pistols. He rolled his eyes and smirked, pulling out a chair and sitting down with them. "Evening boys."

They all jumped and looked at him. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Jayne sighed and leaned back in the seat, crossing his arms. "Well, now that don't concern you none. All you need to be worried 'bout is that we know you're watchin' us, and if you think you'll get one shot off, you're dead wrong. So, why don't ya'll just pack up and clear out."

"And you're going to make us?" one of them asked.

Jayne smirked and sat up, leaning across the table to look at him. "She's gonna help me." While Jayne had distracted them, River had climbed her way up there and was standing behind two of the men. Jayne smirked and grabbed one of the pistols, throwing it into the dark and punched its owner in the face, smirking as he heard the sickening crack as he broke his jaw. River grabbed one of them and pulled his shirt over his head, kicking him in the gut and sending him backwards over the balcony railing. Jayne smirked and looked at the other guy. He was shaking, the gun falling from his hand. He punched him, then grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall, knocking him out. River took the last guy and kicked his legs out from under him, causing him to fall backwards and slammed his head against the table and cracked it open. She looked up at him and smiled.

"That was fun."

"Jayne!" He looked over the railing at Mal. "Time to go back."

"Rodger that." Jayne helped River over the bodies of the men they'd laid out and headed back down the stairs. He stopped and pulled his gun from the locker and followed River back to the ship.

River looked up at him as they meandered through the crowd of people. "Quick thinking, Jayne."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I know you got my back." Wasn't that the damn truth? It didn't matter what kind of situation they got into, River read him and knew exactly what he was planning. If it wasn't a smart idea, she usually let him know, but usually, she just followed his lead. "You going to bed?" he asked as they walked onto Serenity.

"Not if you want me to help." She smiled and walked over to the bench press, sitting down on it and waiting patiently. Jayne grinned and walked over, peeling his coat off and draping it over the bar his weights rested on. He grabbed some of his sport tape from the bag he kept beside the weight bench and started wrapping his wrists.

"You two gonna lock up when you're done?" Mal asked as he led Fanty and Mingo's men to the rest of Aria's luggage.

"Sure will," River said as she stood up. Jayne got down on the floor, bracing his arms in front of him, ready to start doing some pushups. He looked up at River and nodded once he had his hands placed exactly how he wanted them. Carefully, and with all of the grace of a ballerina, she climbed onto his back, centering herself in the middle and crossed her legs. "Too much?" she asked.

"Nah, that's perfect." Jayne started easing himself to the floor before pushing back up with his arms. Up and down, up and down. The slow rhythm and the burn in his arms was a comfort, but also a distraction. He loved having someone to work out with, especially since Book was gone. River had stepped up to offer to fill that void, and she'd done an amazing job. She knew what he needed and how much he needed to be pushed or when she needed to pull back. She was small enough to fit on his back when he needed her, like tonight, but tough enough that she could help him when he wanted to go toe-to-toe with the punching bag.

Jayne knew he felt something for her that he'd never felt for another woman before. He also knew how dangerous that was. Not only for himself, but for her as well. He never acted on it, tried to ignore it, which was hard to do when she was sitting on his back, and he tried to pretend that it wasn't really happening. He wasn't really falling for this ninety pound killing machine. He tried, but it didn't always work out so well.

He still had dreams about her. For now, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his head, forgot about them and concentrated on the work out. He could think about her, and dream about what he wanted but couldn't have later.

xXx

Jayne sighed and stretched his arms out, cracking his shoulders and his back as he walked out of Serenity. It was nice to have a day off and blow some of that money they'd earned by smuggling that woman here. Normally, he'd be off to run a pool scam, or just have some drinks with River. Usually. This morning, Inara and Kaylee had gotten to her and demanded that she go with them shopping. River wasn't one for shopping, but she'd agreed, deciding that maybe it would be a good idea to have some girl time. Jayne had agreed. She couldn't hang out with men all the time. So, he'd said goodbye as she left and decided that he was going to walk around see what kind of trouble he could get into, even though he knew he was probably just going to go to the bar and get drunk.

"Son of a—" Jayne slapped his chest when he felt a sharp prick. He pulled his hand away, noting the small amount of blood. "Damn mosquitos," he swore before heading into the city.

It was nearly sundown, and Jayne wasn't anywhere near as drunk as he'd hoped to be. He'd been to five different bars and ended up leaving every single one of them because all of the women there that he might have hit on reminded him of River. That didn't set well with him. The damn woman was cock blocking him without even being there to do it, or knowing she was.

Paying his tab he stood up and walked out the door, planning on just heading back to Serenity and working out until River got back to help him with dinner. Then again, it was probable that everyone would probably be eating off ship anyways. He decided cutting through an ally would be a quicker way back to the ship; he'd avoid the crowds that were stating to grow as the sun set and the night dwellers came out to play. He was half way between one street and another when a group of men jumped down from the roofs, blocking both exits.

He looked around carefully, sizing them up, taking in their weapons. He'd left his back on the ship, and here he was, cornered between six men with some pretty nasty looking guns. All he had on his belt was his hunting knife. This was going to be interesting. "Can I help ya fellas?" he asked.

"Jayne Cobb?"

"Who's askin'?"

The one who seemed to be in charge smirked. "We were sent by Higgins to kill you."

Jayne growled. Damn, that man could never let anything go, could he? "That so?" He looked behind the three men in front of him as River walked down the alley. "Might be a little hard to do," she warned.

Jayne smirked; she always did have wonderful timing. He watched her as three of them turned guns on her. He knew she was reading him and that was perfect. He sent out a message, telling her to jump over him and take care of the three at his back, he'd take care of the other three. She looked him, nodding slightly, letting him know that she'd understood what he wanted to do. They didn't say a word to each other, but as Jayne reached out and grabbed the strap around one of the men's necks and pulled it back, choking him before Jayne slammed his head into the stone wall, River ran, using Jayne's shoulder as leverage to get behind the other three men. She kicked one of them in the stomach, sending them backwards into the wall, his head snapping on his neck loud enough for them to hear the bones breaking.

Jayne elbowed another one in the face before grabbing his head and smashing it down onto his knee, breaking his nose beyond repair. Jayne dropped him as River dropped her second, she'd swung out to kick him and he'd grabbed her ankle, not to be stopped that easily, River used his grip on her as leverage to swing her body around and kick him with her other foot, knocking him out. Jayne grabbed the last man who still hadn't managed to get a shot off, too shocked to pull the trigger and punched him in the stomach. While he was doubled over Jayne kicked him in the head, causing him to bed backwards. Jayne grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him down on his knee breaking his back. River looked at her last target and used the wall to help her take him down. She ran up the side a few steps, jumped back and wrapped her legs around his neck, using her body as leverage; she threw him face first into the wall and then dragged him down to the ground.

She stood and looked at him. "We need to get out of here." She took his hand and pulled him along, dragging him through the streets until they were thoroughly lost. "Take your shirt off."

"Pardon?" Jayne was pretty sure he hadn't heard that right.

"They planted a tracker on you somewhere, take your shirt off." Jayne grumbled but did as she said. He shed out of his coat and dropped it to the floor before pulling his shirt over his head. He sat on a beaten up crate so he was at a better level for her to look for the tracking device. He watched as she moved into the space between his legs and gently put her hands on his shoulders, running her fingers over his skin, using touch to locate the tracker.

He was used to her being close to him, but usually it was his back or his side. He couldn't remember her ever being this close to his face before. She was close enough that he could smell the shampoo and oils in her hair. He'd noticed it had been recently washed and curled. She must have had it done while she was with Inara and Kaylee. It smelt nice, like strawberries and vanilla. He wondered if it was as soft as it looked and his fingers itched and burned to bury themselves in it. It didn't help that she was touching him so lightly either. Like ten little feathers running down his chest, teasing the skin and the light hairs that dusted it.

He felt his body leaning into hers and had to stop himself before he did something he knew he shouldn't be. He bit his lip as her fingers brushed over his nipples, sending jolts of pleasure straight to his neglected parts. Had he been a weaker man, he would have groaned, but he managed to swallow it down. She looked at him with that knowing look of hers and just smiled as she moved past his pectorals to his abs. Jayne gripped the side of the crate he was sitting on to keep his hands from touching her. This was torture. Plain and simple.

"Found it!" River pulled one of her smaller knives from one of the pockets on her jacket and pressed it against his skin. "Hold still," she commanded as she dug out the small tracker and showed it up to him. "They knew you better than you probably do yourself."

"How ya figure?" Shit, was that really his voice? Rough and gravely?

"It monitors everything from your heart rate to how many calories you consumed, the government use them sometimes when they need to monitor test subjects." She put the small device down on the ground and cut it in half with her knife before putting it away Jayne pulled his shirt on and grabbed his coat. "You headed back to the ship?"

Jayne nodded and pulled his coat on. "Yeah, I was." He sighed as they walked back to the ship. River wasn't even touching him anymore, but he could still smell her, his hands still wanted to bury themselves in her hair and pull her against him. The worst part was, she probably knew exactly what she was doing to him. She was probably enjoying it too. He glared at the ground as he walked.

"No one is eating on the ship tonight," River commented as they walked. Jayne grunted but didn't say anything. "Should we stop somewhere?"

"Do whatever you want; I'm going back to the ship." Jayne pushed past her and walked onto Serenity and went straight to his bunk. He knew it probably wasn't fair to River, but he had to get away from her before he did something he shouldn't.


	3. Daring Rescue

Chapter 3  
Daring Rescue

River sighed as she landed Serenity on Lilac. Things had been less than pleasant on the ship since they'd left Beaumonde. She didn't know why Jayne was so upset with her. She was out of the habit of reading people unless it was necessary, reading him when they weren't in the middle of a fight wasn't necessary, so she didn't read him. She was tempted to after he'd yelled at her last night, but she didn't. She figured it would blow over in a day or two and things would be back to normal.

Then again, she hadn't realized how much time she really spent with Jayne until now. She realized that when she wasn't with him, she was lonely. Sure there were people just about anywhere you went on the ship, plenty of people to talk to and be around…but it wasn't the same. He didn't even sit beside her at breakfast. Hopefully he'd be fine when it came time to go out and deliver the goods.

She walked down to the cargo bay where Mal, Zoe, and Jayne were loading up the mule. She looked at Jayne as she walked up. He looked at her for a brief moment but then quickly looked away. She frowned and climbed into the mule as they loaded the rest of the cargo onto it. "Kaylee, stay linked. If we need you, you'll need to be ready to hightail it to us."

"No problem Captain." Kaylee and Simon headed up to the bridge.

Mal looked at Inara. "Please make sure she doesn't blow anything up." Inara smiled and kissed his cheek before following after Kaylee and Simon. "Alright kids, let's go make some money." Mal climbed into the mule, he moved to sit beside Zoe who was driving, but Jayne beat him to it. Mal looked at River for some context. River shook her head, now was not the time or the place to try and explain what was going on between them. Thankfully, Mal didn't push the matter at all and just sat beside her. "Zoe, take us to the drop point."

River pulled on her sunglasses as Zoe drove them out of the ship. None of them were planning on having too many issues with the drop, but just to be on the safe side; Zoe was dropping River off about one hundred yards away so she could watch everything from a better angle. Mal would be wearing an ear transmitter so she could keep in contact with him. Zoe slowed down to a stop at River's drop off and she hopped out, turning her transmitter on as they drove off.

"Just stay hidden, little albatross."

"No problem Captain." River found some cover behind some boulders that had eroded off the side of the mountain. She ducked behind them and looked over at the drop off area. It was a wide, open area, the only cover was coming from the mountains where she was hiding, but she was the only one there. As far as River could tell there was no chance for a sneak attack. Then again, that didn't mean no one was getting shot at. She kept her eyes trained on her crew as they pulled the mule over and climbed out. The men they were supposed to be dropping the cargo off to were already there.

"All good?" Mal asked over the transmitter.

"We're shiny captain, I'm not picking up—" River groaned as a sharp pain shot through her neck. She reached up and pulled out a small dart. "Poison..."

"Poison? We're poisoned?" Mal's voice was anxious in her ear. River tried to answer but all that came out were strangled gasps. Whatever she was dosed with was constricting her airways and paralyzing her body. "River? River! Damn it, Zoe dump the cargo, Jayne, get in the gorram mule!"

River fell back into the rocks she was hiding in and looked around. Four men, who were very, very blurry, walked towards her. "This is the lethal weapon? She doesn't seem so tough."

"Well not now, she's been drugged."

River reached for the gun on her hip, but her moves were slow, sluggish, and everything was spinning. They got to it before she could and tossed it away. "We've gotta get her on the ship now, them others'll be comin'." Through her drug induced state, River felt her body being lifted. Fear paralyzed her from not being able to do anything. Memories of the academy, of the torture they put her though came flooding back, scaring her and though she couldn't fight back, she could still cry. She could hear Mal and Jayne swearing in her ears before the transmitter was ripped out and broken. She felt her body being thrown onto something, heard the roar of engines, heard the laughs of her kidnappers as they escaped, leaving the others behind. Her last thought was of Jayne before the drugs flowing through her veins forced her into unconsciousness

xXx

River groaned as consciousness came back to her slowly. Her head was spinning, she felt like she was going to throw up, and her body ached in nearly every location. She was vaguely aware that she was tied up and lying on something cold and uncomfortable, most likely a floor. She strained her ears, trying to listen to every sound, trying to figure out where she was. She reached out with her mind, cloudy and muddled from the drugs she'd been dosed with, trying to read the minds of anyone who was around her. She was able to pick up little snippets of thoughts, minor details, nothing that helped her situation at all.

Her arms were sore from the awkward position they were forced into, sharp painful tingles were shooting up one from laying on it for too long of a period. She slowly opened her eyes, the dim light in the room she was in burning them. She was in a small room, almost smaller than the pantry Mal had once locked her in. she crawled over to the wall and used it to pull herself up into a sitting position, getting blood flowing properly into her arm again.

"So, you're awake?" River looked up as a few of the men who'd grabbed her walked into the room. She'd thought maybe they'd been Alliance, still coming to get her, but looking at them, she realized that wasn't the case. They were probably scavengers. River reached out and tried to read them but whatever they'd given her was blocking her abilities. "Don't bother reading us, we made sure you couldn't." The man who seemed to be in charge stood in front of her and looked down at her with his arms crossed.

"What do you want with me?" she asked.

"Your face is all over the underground, sweet. You're a reader. There are plenty of people who would pay good money for you."

River rolled her eyes. She really shouldn't be surprised that in the end it came down to money. "So, you mean to sell me as a slave then?"

"Basically," he said, crouching down beside her. "So, just sit tight and enjoy the ride." He patted her leg and stood, leaving the room.

River sighed and banged her head against the wall. She knew the others would probably be looking for her; however, she had no idea where they were, how long it took Mal to realize what had happened, or if Mal had any way of locating her. She groaned, her head swimming again as the drugs continued to work against her body. The room swam as her body gave out, unable to hold her up, even with the help from the wall. She eased herself down to the ground as gently as she could and closed her eyes.

xXx

Jayne sat in the co-pilot's chair, Vera in his hands, a variety of other guns, knives, and grenades located on belts across his body. Mal had been able to track the pulse beacon of the ship River had been taken to, but they were still too far out for them to actually do anything. He was beyond pissed off. When he was able to put his hands on the bastards that thought they could take River he was going to make sure they paid, painfully. Though, he wasn't directing all of his anger at them. He was pretty pissed off at himself too He'd been nothing but an ass to her since she'd helped get him out of a tight spot the night before, and now...

He wouldn't let himself think about the consequences. They were going to find River, she'd be fine, she'd help them kill the bastards that took her, and everything would go back to normal. At least, he hoped. He looked over at Mal as he called everyone up to the bridge. "You got a plan?"

Mal looked at him. "Maybe," he said as he sat back down as soon as everyone filed into the room Mal engaged the autopilot and turned in his chair to look at them. Jayne didn't get along with Simon all that well, but he felt for the guy, that was his baby sister out there, and they had no idea what was going to happen to her. For all they knew they could be on their way to an Alliance cruiser. Kaylee was sticking close to him though, holding his hand and keeping him calm enough to hear reason, something both Jayne and Mal were thankful for.

"What's the plan, Sir?" Zoe asked, leaning against Jayne's chair.

Mal sighed and crossed his arms. "We're not close enough that they can pick us up on any scans yet, but we will be soon. Now, we can't shoot 'em outta the sky, that'd hurt River. We don't have any way to get on the ship, not until they dock. Now, we can bluff, tell 'em that we're gonna shoot them outta the sky anyways, or we can send a few of us in on a shuttle. I've tracked the ship; they're going to a station just on the other side of the planet. We can go in, just like ya'll did when you took on Niska."

"What are the risks of going in?" Simon asked.

"We don't know the lay out, we'd be going in blind." Jayne turned and looked at him. "As far as Mal and I can tell, it ain't Alliance, just some station."

"We also have no idea if they'd believe the bluff," Zoe added.

Simon looked at Jayne, speaking only to him. "I don't know what's going on between you and my sister, and frankly, I don't think I want to know. All I know is that you make her happy for some reason." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Bring her home."

Jayne nodded and stood, putting a bullet in Vera's chamber. "Don't worry, Doc, she's comin' home."

Mal pushed off the console he'd been leaning against and looked at Zoe. "Go get ready; I'm taking you and Jayne." He looked over at Kaylee as Zoe left the room. "I want you to stay here and make sure we're ready for a quick getaway if we need too. Inara can help you." Mal turned to Simon. "Well get in contact as soon as we have her and let you know what's going on."

Jayne walked off the bridge and head for the second shuttle. Zoe was already in there, getting it ready to take off. It would be a smart idea to finish following them in the shuttle instead of taking Serenity any further. Jayne sat in a seat and glared out of the windows. He was going to get her back, and when he did, he'd make sure nothing ever happened to her again.

xXx

River screamed as she was slammed back into consciousness, something that hadn't happened since before Miranda. She'd been dreaming of the academy, of the pain, the fear, the men with the blue hands. She pulled her knees up and pulled her body up into a sitting position on the wall, panting and sweating as she looked around. The drugs had finally left her system and her head was clear, she could hear the men coming for her, but better yet, she could read them. They were docking on a station; they were coming to get her. River knew if they found out the drugs had worn off and she could read them they'd drug her again. She'd have to pretend to still be under the influence.

They walked in and looked at her. "Hear ya screamin' something wrong?" he one in charge asked.

"What's your name?"

"Kevin."

River smiled at him. "No, Kevin, just a bad dream. Where are we?" She knew asking a lot of questions would keep them thinking she couldn't read them.

"We're at the station we'll be auctioning you off at." Kevin walked over and grabbed her around the arm, yanking her to her feet and tossing her at one of his men. "Carry her."

River grunted as she was picked up and unceremoniously dropped onto someone's shoulder. She kept her eyes open, trying to take in the layout as they kept her. She knew they couldn't be on a commercial station. More likely it was a privately owned one where they could afford to carry her around while he was still tied up. While they carried her she was trying to think of a way to get the ropes off her arms and legs. If she managed to get one set free, even just her legs, she'd be able to fight her way out of this.

They took her back to what looked like some kind of holding cell and dropped her painfully onto the floor. "Make yourself comfortable, you'll be her a while." Kevin laughed as he walked out of the room.

River rolled her eyes as she looked around the room for anything she may be able to find to cut the ropes keeping her bound. There was a jagged piece over in the far corner where the wall had been shot from the other side. She sighed and slowly started to make her way across the room, using her legs to pull her along. She was halfway there when alarms started going off all around the station.

River reached out, connecting her mind with the closest one. Someone was invading the station, guns blazing. "Jayne…" She doubled her efforts to get to the other side of the room. Once she was there, despite being completely out of breath, she turned her back to the wall and felt for the jagged piece of wall and started cutting the rope around her wrists. While she was trying to cut through the rope she reached out looking for Jayne's mind. After everything that'd happened, she wanted to be connected to him so she knew he was alright.

She tried to sift through all the thoughts screaming at her, ignoring the dying or cowardly, looking desperately for Jayne. His thoughts were like a heavy blow to the head when she finally managed to connect with him. It was like being in the middle of a tornado that'd been set on fire. He was angry and determined two things that made a man dangerous. He was killing man after man that tried to get in his way. She was faintly aware of Mal and Zoe, but she kept her focus on Jayne. He was getting closer from what she could remember of the layout.

The ropes binding her wrists finally snapped free as she managed to cut through them. "Finally," she muttered as she reached down and pulled the ropes from her ankles. She climbed to her feet as the door slammed open. She glared as Kevin came rushing in, gun raised on her.

"Don't you move," he commanded as he walked over and grabbed her, training the gun to her temple. "You're going to walk me out of here. _Dohn-ma_?"

"You think so?" Jayne ran into the room, gun trained on Kevin. "Let her go."

Kevin shook his head. "So you can shoot me? I don't think so."

Jayne smirked and looked her in the eyes. River read him and realized what he was going to do. "Last chance. Let her go."

"I said no!"

Jayne didn't give him another chance to speak. River elbowed the arm that was training the gun on her head and ducked as Jayne pulled his trigger and caught Kevin between the eyes. River dropped to the ground under his weight. Jayne ran over and pulled her out from under him and pulled her into him. "You alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she smiled and looked up at him. "Didn't doubt you for a minute."

Jayne pulled her tighter against him, picking her up off the ground and carrying her out the way they'd come. "We need to get you back to the ship." He turned a corner where Mal and Zoe were waiting. "Let's get outta here."

xXx

Jayne carried River over the trail of dead bodies they'd left on the station to the shuttle. He was furious, having killed all those men hadn't helped him at all, he felt like he needed to kill more. Not even killing the man who'd taken her had satisfied him. Jayne sat in a seat and pulled River closer as Mal and Zoe got them in the air. He wanted to ask if she was alright, if she needed anything, but he didn't trust himself to talk. Not yet. Instead, he looked her over, looking for any wounds or bruises that needed to be attended to. It didn't look like there was anything visible, but he didn't know about the drugs they'd used on her.

"Jayne?" He looked at her, meeting her eyes. "I'm fine," she said with a soft smile. "I'm just tired."

"I'll feel better once the doc looks at you." River sighed and nodded her head, resting it against his chest. He kept his arms around her, refusing to let her go, and ignored the looks Mal and Zoe kept giving him over their shoulders. Things were going to come out eventually, sooner was better than later at this point.

The whole situation had made him realize something that scared him, but he was ready to embrace it. Once the shuttle docked again with Serenity, Jayne carried River out of the shuttle. Everyone else was waiting for them just inside.

"River, are you okay?" Simon rushed over, his medical kit in hand and started examining her while she was still in Jayne's arms.

River pushed him away. "I'm fine, Simon." Jayne put her down on her feet so Simon could see that she was virtually unharmed. "The drugs are gone, I'm just tired."

Simon nodded. "Let me help you to your bunk." He reached out to help her but River pushed him off.

"Jayne can help me," she said taking his hand and pulled him away from all of the others. Jayne smirked a bit, even though he could feel all of their eyes on them as they disappeared down the crew's passage. He kicked open the hatch for his bunk and let River climb down before he followed; locking the door once he reached the bottom. He watched River walk over to his pile of clothes and pick up one of his Blue Sun shirts. "You did laundry," she commented as she started to pull her own clothes off.

Jayne turned around and stared at the wall, wanting to give her privacy. "Yeah, last night when I got back I ran them through real quick." He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair as he listened to her clothes hitting the floor. He was more grateful that he'd done laundry now than he'd been earlier. He didn't know why River wanted to wear his shirt, but when she gave him the okay to turn around, he sure as hell wasn't complaining. The shirt on her short body covered to her mid-thigh, the cut-off sleeves showing off the slender muscles on her arms. She looked damn good in his clothes. He walked over to her, taking hold of her hips and pulling her against him. "You sure you're alright?" he asked.

River nodded. "I'm fine." She took his hand and led him over to the bed. Jayne lay out on the thin mattress and pulled River against him. She cuddled in close to his body, laying her hand over his heart, her head in the crook of his neck. "I knew you'd come for me."

Jayne wrapped an arm around her waist protectively. "Yeah, well, I wasn't 'bout to let nothin' happen to you." Something primal flooded through him, made him glad that he had a small arsenal behind his back, within easy reach to protect her with. He looked down at her, staring into her eyes.

She reached up, lightly running her fingers over his lips. "You don't kiss on the mouth," she whispered.

Jayne took hold of her wrist, kissing the tips of her fingers. "I don't kiss whores on the mouth, you ain't no whore." He dipped his head and slanted his lips across hers. River moaned softly, her arms going around his neck. Jayne pulled her closer, fisting a hand into her hair. She tasted like apples and vanilla, and Jayne couldn't get enough. He brushed his tongue over her lips and she responded beautifully, opening up for him. Jayne's tongue snaked inside, exploring every nook and cranny, committing it all to memory. He never knew anything could taste so damn good. When his lungs burned for air, he buried his head into the crook of her neck, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses against her skin. River moaned, craning her neck the other way to give him as much room as possible.

Without taking his lips from her skin, too greedy to give up the taste, he rolled them so she was covered by his body. River bent her knees, making room for his big body between her legs and Jayne settled into the cradle of her hips nicely. His hand found her silky smooth leg and glided his hand up the skin, pushing his shirt she was wearing up her body, slowly, revealing beautiful skin, inch by inch. She arched her hips so he could get it over the swell of her ass and out from under her back before dumping it on the floor. Jayne hadn't known she'd removed everything but her scrap of panties until he saw her perfect naked breasts.

He braced his weight on his hands and looked down at her, appreciating the art that was her body, all of the smooth slopes, the contours of the muscle in her arms and legs, the curves, the way the light bounced off her skin, making it glow, the way her eyes stared up at him, pleading with him, the way her hair fanned out around her like a dark halo. She was perfect beauty; there was no doubt about that in his mind. Jayne shifted his weight onto one hand, his other smoothing up over her hip to the swell of her pert breast, cupping it in his hand, forming it against his palm.

River moaned, arching into his hands, her body on fire, her never endings burning with every touch. She reached out, wrapping her arms around Jayne's neck and pulled his head down to hers, slanting her mouth across his. No matter how close she got she couldn't get close enough, she need more, craved it. She'd been waiting a good long while for this and she planned on memorizing every moment of it. Jayne brushed his thumb over her nipple, causing the flesh to tighten and stand out, begging for more attention, which Jayne did not deny. Her brain went into over drive when she felt his lips ease over her skin before drawing the hard bud into his mouth, sucking gently on it. For such a big man, who left such a large pile of dead bodies in his wake, he could be extremely gentle. It was like he was cleaning one of his guns, taking extra care to be careful, using gentle fingers, sure touches, appreciating the beauty.

River appreciated the slow approach, the gentle caresses, but she needed more. She gripped the back of his shirt and pulled it, with some effort, free from his belt and pulled it over his head, dropping it to the floor along with the one she'd been wearing. She let her fingers dance over his skin as he moved to give her other breast some attention. She moaned as he wrapped his mouth around her skin and sucked. She could feel the corded muscles of his body tense and relax as he moved under her fingers. She arched her hips, rubbing against him. Her body was on fire and she needed more from him.

"Easy girl, you're gonna make me crazy if you keep rubbin' like that," he ground out, voice rough and gravely from the lust.

"I need more, Jayne, please," she begged, her hands breaking between them and unfastening his belt. If he wasn't going to move things along, she would. Jayne growled and sat back on his hips, ripping her panties off her legs before going to his belt, finishing what she'd started. He quickly kicked his pants and boxers off along with his boots and socks and eased back into the cradle of her hips. He groaned and nearly lost it like a school boy when his throbbing cock rocked against her hot, slick center.

"_Wo de tian a,_" he groaned. "You feel perfect _bao bei_." He stretched his body out over hers as River wrapped her legs around his waist, arching against him, rolling her hips, trying to relieve some of the pressure that had built up. Jayne groaned and fisted a hand into her hair, pulling her head back as he kissed her, holding her hip with the other, and eased into her body slowly. River gasped, her eyes going wide at the pure pleasure that shot through her as Jayne parted her, filling her, stretching her.

Jayne's grip on her hip and in her hair tightened as he fought for control. River was hot, wet, and tight as a damned fist. The pleasure of being surrounded by her clenching muscles shot straight to his groin, threatening to end this before it'd even really began. River mewled under him, arching her body, rolling her hips. "Jayne, move, please."

Jayne growled and pulled his hips back slowly, dragging his cock along her walls before slamming back in, burying himself completely in a quick thrust. "So damn tight," he ground out as he set a fast, punishing rhythm. River clawed at his back, trying to ground herself to this moment before the pleasure Jayne was jolting through her body caused her to float out into the black. The bites of pain Jayne felt from her nails digging into his shoulders only spurred Jayne on.

He knew River was close, and it'd been so long for him, and she was so tight, gripping him like a damned fist, trying to milk his orgasm from him. Jayne knew he wouldn't last much longer. He reached a hand between them and found her clit, rolling it with his thumb as he increased his thrusts, slamming against her. River cried out, her pleasure spiking dangerously. She decided to try something she'd never done before. She reached out with her mind, linking hers with Jayne's molding them together, she found the lock to the opening and threw it wide open, completely linking them. Jayne could feel everything she did, experienced everything she did, and she knew what he was feeling, could feel it coursing through her veins like a steady lava flow.

That's what sent them both over the edge. River screamed his name as her orgasm tore through her with teeth and claws, sending her into the middle of a tornado and letting her careen across the sky. Jayne cried out, the force of his orgasm clawing up his back and nailing him in the back of the head. His grip on her hips threatened to leave bruises. He collapsed beside her as they tried to gain control of their breathing.

Jayne looked at her, pulling his thin sheet over them. "What the hell was that?"

River smiled, cuddling into him, enjoying the feel of his strong arms wrapped around her. "I linked our minds," she explained. "I didn't know I could, but I wanted to try."

Jayne sighed and fell back against the mattress. "Gorram it girl, you'll be the death of me." River smiled and curled her body closer to him, letting sleep claim her. Jayne smiled a bit as he watched her, keeping her close against him. He carefully reached over the side of the bed and pulled his knife from the holster, keeping it in hand as he let sleep claim him as well. River was a weapon, dangerous and exciting, the woman making the weapon beautiful and the weapon making the woman sexy as hell. He was a predator, a hunter, a killer, and he would kill anyone who tried to kill him woman or hurt her. He slept with his knife in hand, ready to fight off anyone who might want to threaten his little slice of heaven.


End file.
